Cuyahoga County teen scoops 3-foot carp from flooded street

Thursday

May 15, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 15, 2014 at 3:34 PM

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio - A northern Ohio teenager is reeling in attention for a big catch after he spotted a 3-foot carp swimming in receding floodwaters on his street and scooped it into his arms as his mother caught the scene on video.

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio (AP) — A northern Ohio teenager is reeling in attention for a big catch after he spotted a 3-foot carp swimming in receding floodwaters on his street and scooped it into his arms as his mother caught the scene on video.

North Royalton resident Jake Sawyer, 16, waded through more than ankle-deep water as he stalked the big fish in the dark Monday night and eventually trapped it.

First he tried to throw a towel over it to stun it. He said when that didn’t work, he tried to push it toward a curb.

“I just slowly put my hand on it, and then once it got comfortable with me, I just kind of bear-hugged it and lifted it up,” he told The Associated Press yesterday.

Sawyer said heavy rains that day had caused flash-flooding as high as his mailbox, and he suspects the large grass carp slipped out of a nearby pond as the water rose.

He said he wanted to ensure the fish didn’t become trapped and die in the street, so he carried it back to the pond. He estimates it weighed 40 pounds.

“I think our only option was to put it in the pond,” he said. “I mean, I could’ve put it in my pool, but it would’ve died.”